Health

Maternal oxygen transport variables during the third trimester of normal pregnancy

Article Abstract:

Oxygen transport through veins and arteries appears to drop during the third trimester of pregnancy. Researchers catheterized 10 pregnant women close to delivery and used a blood gas analyzer to measure oxygen transport in the lungs and arm. Seven of the women were also studied after they gave birth. Oxygen transport was lower during the third trimester readings than in the readings taken after birth. This information may be of use to doctors who treat seriously ill pregnant women, since oxygen transport can be used to predict a patient's outcome.

Urinary trypsin inhibitor may be one of the enzymes involved in keeping uterine muscle from contracting until labor begins. Researchers analyzed the level of urinary trypsin inhibitor in the amniotic fluid of 40 pregnant women at different stages of pregnancy. Between 15 weeks of pregnancy and labor at 37 to 40 weeks, the level of urinary trypsin inhibitor dropped from 1.5 micromoles per liter to 0.1 micromoles per liter after labor.

Expression of regulator of G protein signaling-2 in rat myometrium during pregnancy and parturition

Article Abstract:

A protein called regulator of G protein signaling-2 (RGS2) appears to be involved in labor but its exact function is unknown, according to a study in rats. Blood levels of this protein increased during pregnancy and then decreased during labor. Progesterone stimulates its production, as does the presence of the fetus.